The first Harry Potter book—Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone—was released 20 years ago today, and if that's making you feel old, you're not alone.
Fortunately, things like Facebook and Twitter are making that fact a little easier to swallow and a whole lot more magical with the way the platforms are celebrating J.K. Rowling's tale of wizardry.
For example, on Facebook, when you type the words "Harry Potter," "Gryffindor," "Ravenclaw," "Hufflepuff," or "Slytherin" in a text post, they will light up in their respective house colors. To make things even more exciting, clicking on the magical words causes a wand to appear and cast a spell, sending sparks and stars shooting out over the page.
The Twitterverse was also given a magical touch in honor of the big day.
Twitter teamed with Pottermore and Bloomsbury to create the official emoji to commemorate the big anniversary: a pair of Harry's glasses with his famous lightening bolt scar. The emoji will pop up when you tweet a message that includes #HarryPotter20.
Just check out Rowling's message below:
After selling more than 400 million copies of the Harry Potter series and turning them into a $6.5 billion movie franchise, Rowling is the first self-made billionaire author. In fact, according to Forbes, she is only one of 56 women in the world to have earned her own billion-dollar fortune.
Needless to say, this first book changed her life forever, just as it changed many of ours!